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61*north · 06-20-2010, 06:40 PM

I have no idea what I'm doing and am wondering if maybe I'm heading 100mph with my hair on fire in a direction that might not be right.

Sure, I've had tanks before. Bought my first tank in about 1972 or so, used. That little 10 gallon must have been a big deal to me at the time as I even remember who I bought it from. Jim Miller sold me a used 10 gallon with stainless trim for $20 and it had everything I needed including fish. A year or so later I had multiple tanks and a year beyond that I built my first marine tank. Lots of tanks and then a major patch of boredom with it. I blanked with no fish for a few years.

About 6 months ago I saw my first Amano tank and was surprised at how beautiful it was and how different from anything I'd tried before. I decided to give that a whirl and about a month ago bought a 180 gallon AGA and have been puttering around getting it built into a wall in my office. It's in and now I'm wondering if maybe I should set my sites a little lower for a first planted tank.

I've got a 20hi and a 30hi... and a 55 standard. I think I've got a 10 gallon wandering around here too. My question to you is; based on your experience in the hobby would you suggest I set up one of the smaller tanks with plants first? I'm guessing there may be a few lessons that would be taught more gently if I didn't have to tear down a really big tank to fix whatever errors I'd made.

What are your thoughts?

BTW... thanks to TarantulaGuy for pointing me toward this site and letting me bend your ear for an hour the other evening. I appreciate your suggestions and made 5 pages of notes while we were on the phone.

06-20-2010, 06:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
61north Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Alaska... at 61 north latitude Posts: 45 iTrader Ratings: 3 iTrader Positive Rating: 100% Plant Points:	Alaska / New to Planted Tanks I have no idea what I'm doing and am wondering if maybe I'm heading 100mph with my hair on fire in a direction that might not be right. Sure, I've had tanks before. Bought my first tank in about 1972 or so, used. That little 10 gallon must have been a big deal to me at the time as I even remember who I bought it from. Jim Miller sold me a used 10 gallon with stainless trim for $20 and it had everything I needed including fish. A year or so later I had multiple tanks and a year beyond that I built my first marine tank. Lots of tanks and then a major patch of boredom with it. I blanked with no fish for a few years. About 6 months ago I saw my first Amano tank and was surprised at how beautiful it was and how different from anything I'd tried before. I decided to give that a whirl and about a month ago bought a 180 gallon AGA and have been puttering around getting it built into a wall in my office. It's in and now I'm wondering if maybe I should set my sites a little lower for a first planted tank. I've got a 20hi and a 30hi... and a 55 standard. I think I've got a 10 gallon wandering around here too. My question to you is; based on your experience in the hobby would you suggest I set up one of the smaller tanks with plants first? I'm guessing there may be a few lessons that would be taught more gently if I didn't have to tear down a really big tank to fix whatever errors I'd made. What are your thoughts? BTW... thanks to TarantulaGuy for pointing me toward this site and letting me bend your ear for an hour the other evening. I appreciate your suggestions and made 5 pages of notes while we were on the phone.